It seems that Cathay Pacific is increasingly interested in Boeing's 747-400QLR along with several other airlines. A fuesalage plug and more fuel capacity are being added by Boeing to meet their demands.

"History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or timid." D. Eisenhower

Cathay is always looking into new versions of aircraft manufacturers come out with, like the A380, A345, 747-400X, 747-400ER, 747-400QXLR and now the 747-400QLR, as well as the 777-200ER, 777-200LR and 777-300ER. Does not mean we will buy them all. Just window shopping, that's all.

Yes, you're right....and you just repeated what CX747 said...he never said CX was going to buy it, he said they are looking into it. It also seems they are working with Boeing to refine the potential product...a little more than window shopping.

Southside Irish...our two teams are the White Sox and whoever plays the Cubs!

What about Thai Airways? They have the most diverse fleet of all airlines so far up to now but haven't ordered any 345, 346, 744ER, 744QXLR, 772LR, and 773ER yet. I hope they will order these exciting new aircraft soon.

Cathay is one of those Asian airlines with a habit of bending over completely backwards for RollsRoyce, no matter the costs/consequences... so Boeing had better have an RR option (if not exclusivity, as was previously contemplated) for the 744XQLR if they want CX to buy it.

A few months ago I remember reading that CX was looking into the possibility of leasing 6-8 A380's. Has there been any news regarding this? They definatley have some routes that can support it, so I think we will eventually be seeing the A380 in CX colors.

Being one of the world´s top ten airlines, and seeing that their newest 747-400 is already 8 years old, its about time CX finalises its future plans for the top end of their fleet, don´t you think?
They´re for sure a hot candidate to be one of the next airlines to place orders for Jumbo aircraft.

I agree that CX wants aircraft whether made by Boeing or Airbus to have Rolls Royce engines as options. That is why they went for the RR Trent 556 powered A340-600 over the exclusive GE90-115 powered 777-300ER.

Ignorant as usual. I didn't claim to know anything more than anyone else about CX's business. All I pointed out is that one poster is arguing with the other, yet merely repeating what the other said. And, secondly, working with a company to further refine a product is more than mere window shopping, whether it's CX or not. It doesn't mean CX will buy them, but it does mean they are looking into it further than some are willing to admit.

Southside Irish...our two teams are the White Sox and whoever plays the Cubs!

Our fleet manager has just returned from Boeing after having given the 777-300ER a good look. It would not be surprising if we ordered these, although we may just order more normal 773s. I am fairly confident that we will be sending our 777s to Europe within a year or two. Moscow is the latest rumour. I doubt we will buy any more 747s unless they are freighters. Our CEO hates Airbuses but we will not fly twin engined aircraft across the ocean. Airbuses are costing a lot of money in maintenance and as a result the engineers all hate Airbuses too. Expect more Boeing purchases. There, that's all I know.

I thank you for the insider info from the CEO Cx flyboy. It is good to hear from you. I find it interesting that the current CEO is not an Airbus fan, and that aircraft are more expensive to operate than the Boeing stable mates in maintenance terms. (Sorry but a small smile here with the quote, "You can pay now or pay later, either way your going to pay.) How is life in the 777?

747-400QLR & Cathay Pacific: From what I have heard and read though, CX is more than just "window shopping" in regards to the 747-400QLR. They are actually defining the aircraft to meet their requirements and Boeing is listening. Cathay is pressing Boeing for 8,000nm range along with pax and cargo increase. Boeing is meeting the demands with a 80' plug forward of the wing which will allow for the demanded increase in pax & cargo along with increasing the size of the horizontal and vertical stabalizer fuel tanks. 10 airframes also be the what the initial order will look like.

777-300ER & Cathay Pacific: Let's stop the rumor about CX and their problems with the 777-300ER not having RR engines. INITIALLY, they were skeptical of the situation, but have now come full circle due to the tremendous deals GE offers and the fact that the engine is a winner.

"History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or timid." D. Eisenhower

HATE is a strong word. Perhaps, preference towards one thing over another, is a better description. Nothing's perfect. The fact is that both Europe and America builds great jetliners and each shows advantages in various aspects over the other. Airbus and Boeing both act as catalysts to promote each other's productivity and creativity to give the world's airlines a better fleet of airplanes. Biases towards certain things may be more pronounced in different locations but IMO should not be used as a be-all and end-all outlook of the whole.

Boeing is meeting the demands with a 80' plug forward of the wing which will allow for the demanded increase in pax & cargo along with increasing the size of the horizontal and vertical stabalizer fuel tanks. 10 airframes also be the what the initial order will look like.

An 80 foot stretch! That oughta put the A380 to shame on capacity! What will it take to get it off the ground? 4 GE90-115's? lol.